Land-based ecosystems are fundamental pillars of our wellbeing. However, their resilience is increasingly threatened by the growing demand for food, housing, energy and other ecosystem services. Building on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of Food Security as an overarching framework, we work to promote the rights of all land users as an important precondition for sustainable and inclusive development.  

Our work involves analyzing structural barriers that hinder land users from enjoying their legitimate rights. Together with our partners, we explore context-specific solutions and innovations to overcome these barriers. This includes supporting governments in providing the necessary services to their citizens, and supporting right holders in claiming their legitimate rights. Building on the insights gained, we support the development of monitoring tools to increase transparency and accountability within the land sector, and to track the implementation of national and international commitments. Our approach can be described as multi-level changemaking to democratize food systems, end chronic poverty and food insecurity and restoring ecosystems.

We work simultaneously across the following three levels:

• Local level: We create space and strengthen community-based organizations and sub-national governance institutions to co-develop social innovations for land tenure security.

• National level: We work with governments, human rights institutions, and civil society networks to support the implementation of progressive national policies, also by building on progress made in global policy processes.

• Global level: Through our broad research and policy networks we actively engage in identifying policy spaces and agenda setting to ensure that these ideas can be taken up and integrated into formal decision making and implementation. A core focus of our work is the integration of land tenure in the implementation of the three Rio Conventions.